The Corona Virus has taught us a lot of things, like how to share and take care of each other. One of the major lessons Corona Virus has taught me is about money, the lack thereof, and the stress of not having it.
Right now I am an entrepreneur who works from home. In my small shop, I create custom shirts and cups and just about anything else. Most of my sales come from word of mouth and my biggest customers are schools and other small businesses. During this time of year, my business is usually booming!
As I sit here typing today, my once-thriving business is closed. There are no orders to fill, no customers calling and worse no invoices being paid. I am not even sure my business will survive this pandemic. I know that sounds so sad but I am hopeful. I’m grateful for the lessons I learned from my granny and my dad about money and survival. These lessons have kept our family from completely falling apart financially during this time.
These are 3 things that my granny and the Corona Virus taught me about money.
We all Need an Emergency Fund
Remember that money grandma used to put under her mattress or if your granny was like mine, the money she kept tucked in her bra? Well granny called that rainy day money. No matter how much we joked about the money granny kept in her bra, if we needed it she had it. Granny knew that one day it was going to rain. See our grannys lived through the great depression and other pandemics so they know what happens when it rains.
The Corona Virus is like that rain, a torrential downpour of rain. This is why we all need an emergency fund. An emergency fund is money you put back for an emergency. The rule of thumb is at least $1,000 or 3 to 6 months of expenses if you can. It is money for a time like this if you get laid off or need to travel for an emergency. For a lot of Americans, it was like a flood. Luckily our family had a small fund but not near enough.
Imagine how less stressful this pandemic would be if you had 3 to 6 months of expenses saved. You could relax and just take care of your family. Read more about emergency funds and debt-free.
Saving is Key
“You betta save your money”. Now this is one my dad used to say to me all the time. My dad is the ultimate saver, I have never seen anyone who saves like him or who refuses to spend money on anything!! He was like the dad on Everybody Hate’s Chris. I would just think “It’s my money, why can’t I spend it.” I didn’t really see his point until I was much older and in debt. I wish I would have listened sooner. Now we have a plan to save money each month. We created a plan and we stick to it. If life comes up we adjust the plan and keep going.
Yes to Multiple incomes
Have you ever heard “ Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”? Yes, another thing granny used to say. Well for me this means having multiple streams of income. Having more than one income means that if one stream drops off you have another to help cover expenses.
I have my business but I also have other streams of income, now I don’t make huge incomes from these but they definitely help keep us afloat. Here is my newest income stream. Think about something that you are good at and people would be willing to pay for. Whatever that is could create a new income stream for you. I have a teacher friend who started a cleaning business on the weekends and a good friend who started selling body butter she had been making for years for her son’s dry skin. These are just a few ways to make some side money, to tuck in your bra, lol.
So think about it like this your emergency fund is the lifeboat, it keeps you from sinking. Remember you only use this boat if the ship ( your other income) is going down or gone.
Your Savings is air in the lifeboat, the more air in your boat the longer you will stay afloat. Your multiple incomes are the patch, just in case your boat begins to sink you can use them to patch the holes.
As an adult, we take granny and Dad’s advice more seriously. I wasn’t listening but I’m glad I heard them. My hope is that this will help you be better prepared for the rain because there will always rain. Be Blessed
